The Association for Women in Sports Media means well in fighting the good fight to protect TV Azteca sports reporter Ines Sainz from being subjected to inappropriate locker room behavior.

I’m just not sure Ines Sainz is in the same fight with AWSM or other women who have worked hard to establish themselves as respected sports reporters.

Sainz accepted multiple invitations to appear on the New York morning media circuit, including ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s the Today Show, Tuesday to talk about her controversial locker room visit with the New York Jets. Allegations of sexual harassment towards Ines Sainz from players prompted an NFL investigation and an apology from Jets owner Woody Johnson

But you didn’t get a clear sense of where she stood on the issue or if she even found the entire incident to be an issue. Sainz said she even thought, at one point, the media’s reaction was overblown. This was after she said on her twitter account that she was “dying of embarrassment.”

Let’s be clear about one thing. Locker rooms are more than just a hangout spot for athletes. They are also a place of business where men and women members of the media work. Athletes, coaches and anyone working in that room should treat it as a professional environment and should hold themselves to the highest level of accountability.

Obviously, there were some inappropriate comments made from New Y0rk Jets players that were just flat out unacceptable. Those players need to be appropriately reprimanded for their behavior.

However I find it equally unacceptable that Sainz, a 32-year-old woman, has a problem understanding the difference between being provocative and attractive. And skin tight jeans and see-through shirts (see photo) in a locker room or on a basketball court definitely falls into the provocative category.

On of my former co-workers at the Orlando Sentinel, Jemele Hill, said it best on ESPN’s First Take that her dress attire “undermines” the work of other women working in sports media.

For years, women have fought for equal rights to cover sports with the same resources and opportunities as their male counterparts and continue to fight for equal positioning behind the scenes in the industry as editors and producers. I believe this is the heart of AWSM and why they felt compelled to speak out on behalf of Ines Sainz.

But it would have been nice if this were a fight for someone who saw something worth fighting for.

Comments

She claims to be the sexiest sports reporter from Mexico. Has posed in numerous mens magazines and dresses very provocatively on the sidelines, in interviews etc. then claims there was harassment?
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But i disagree with you in one aspect Shannon. Locker rooms are not a place of business. They are where players dress/shower/change, get ready for their event, decompress after. I dont believe women belong in there, just as much as men dont belong in a woman’s lockerroom. But i also dont believe ANY reporter belongs in there. That is how you set it up equally, dont allow any reporter, male or female, in there. Then male reporters dont have an advantage over access.

Thanks for the response. Actually, Ines never made the claim of harassment. AWSM and other people filed a complaint on her behalf.

Locker rooms, at least in the case of professional athletes, are also a place of business after games for the simple fact that working professionals are in that space performing a job. The time restraints reporters have to accomplish their jobs sometimes require a trip to the locker room. There simply isn’t time to wait 30-40 minutes for an athlete to put on a suit when you’ve got a deadline bearing down on you.

It’s a necessary evil that comes with the job. But I do hear what you’re saying and it’s a good point.

Maybe the leagues compromise. Players made available to everyone the first 20 minutes after a game, in a separate room or something. That locker room should be just for the team, at least in my opinion

This is ridiculous and a double standard against men. Nobody touched or disrespect her. She considers herself the sexist reporter, and was using Twitter the entire time. She put herself in the spotlight at the jets game. And now to stay on the spotlight, she is attacking the woman’s association and the media. She is eating it all up and everyone’s going for it.